


The IT Guy

by orphan_account



Series: Batman/Superman Office!AU [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Superman - All Media Types, Teen Titans - All Media Types
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Male Character(s) - Freeform, cuteness, wally is a sneaky bastard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-15
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-05-26 20:35:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6254932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An Office!AU that explores the lives of the employees of Kent-Wayne Industries.</p><p>Name: Roy Harper<br/>Age: 29<br/>Occupation: Head of Kent-Wayne Industries IT Team<br/>Likes: parenting, his workshop<br/>Dislikes: bullies, the rude guy at the Starbucks across the street<br/>Number of Days Without a Work-Related Injury: 3<br/>Last Work-Related Injury: dropped an old computer on his foot</p>
            </blockquote>





	The IT Guy

**Author's Note:**

> UPDATE: [My Tumblr](http://burningice2.tumblr.com/)

**~~~~I. The Computer**

“What do you mean I have a virus?”

Roy tried to ignore the angry salesman breathing down his neck, but Jason was now clinging to the back of his shirt, pulling desperately at the polo as if that would fix the computer any faster.

Roy swatted him away. “I mean that you have a virus. That wasn’t code for the computer is fixed.” Jason grumbled insults under his breath. “You’re going to have to use your work-issued laptop for work until I get this fixed.”

“Can’t you just restart the damn thing?”

“If you thought that was a solution, why wouldn’t you have tried that instead of call me up here to do it for you?”

“I figured I’d give you something to do. Who knows what you do all day.”

Roy frowned. “For one, I monitor security—”

“Don’t need a monologue, Shakespeare,” Jason interrupted with a hand rudely held up to cease his talking. “Just fix the damn thing.”

It was in Jason’s nature to be kind of a dick, but he was especially moody today, which only meant that he must have gotten into it with Dick. Roy was willing to bet Lian’s birthday gift that Jason and Dick had an HR mediation earlier today. For the sake of keeping peace in the workplace, he let Jason bitch and moan all he wanted.

“Do you have anywhere you need to be today?” Roy asked.

“Unless I get ambushed by another email from HR, my schedule should be clear.” Roy didn’t miss the acrimony behind the words and felt bad for his friend.

Roy had been friends with Dick first, having gone to the same high school. Jason he had met at the liquor store during his dark period. While he spent his nights forgetting the days at the bottom of beer bottles, Jason was getting paid to buy booze for underage college kids. Needless to say, he was both of their friend and as such tried to stay out of their breakup. The worst part was that this could have all been avoided if he would have said something.

He remembered meeting Dick for lunch to thank him for getting him the IT job at Kent-Wayne Industries. Dick had been unusually giddy the entire meal, and once the plates were cleared he pulled the box out of his pocket and told him that he was going to propose to Jason that night. Roy knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea. Dick chose to accept Jason for who he was, flaws and all, but he was blind to the problems in their relationship. Instead, Roy had plastered a fake smile on his face and wished him luck.

The next day, Roy accompanied Jason to the department store to return the ring.

While he had been there to comfort Dick in the days following when he did nothing but sleep and eat, Jason had refused to answer phone calls or his front door. The next time Roy saw him was at his new job, and his friend was pretending that he hadn’t recently gotten out of a long-term relationship. While he may not have discussed the break-up with his friend, he did notice the shift in his mood whenever Dick was brought up in conversation or in the same room.

“Jason,” Roy started cautiously, “go home. Take a break. You clearly don’t want to be here.” Jason said nothing, kept staring at his broken computer with his eyes glazed over. “Go,” Roy said again, grabbing Jason’s briefcase and shoving it into his chest. “They won’t miss you.”

“Fine.”

“Just know that while you’re enjoying half a day away from the office, I’ll be here trying to fix your piece of shit computer.” That got a little bit of a smile. “By the way, the last time I worked on this I found a disturbing amount of visits to Pornhub in your web history. Do I even want to know how—”

“You _really_ don’t.”

 

 

 

**II. The Tablet**

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do. You’ll have to wait the remaining twenty-four hours for the tablet to unlock.”

“Damn,” Conner said with a smile still on his face. Some people may find him annoying, but Conner always had a smile on his face. “Tim really got me good.”

“He did this?” Roy asked in surprise.

“I know,” Conner said after seeing the confusion on his face. “He doesn’t seem like the type of guy to have much fun, but I guess I bring the best out of him.”

Roy didn’t have the guts to tell Conner that Tim most definitely was not fond of him, and that him locking Conner out of his tablet was probably him bringing the worst out of Tim, not the best.

“What did you do to upset him this time?”

Conner shrugged. “The usual. Just hit on him a bit. I think it was the pick-up line that broke him.”

“Which one did you use?” Roy was almost afraid to ask.

“Are you a sofa? Because I want to sit on your face.” Conner looked so proud of himself.

“That’ll do it.” He handed the tablet back to Conner. “Little bit of advice. You might get more favorable results if you’re less aggressive with your approach.”

Roy swore he saw Conner’s smile slip, but it was back in place as soon as it had disappeared. Conner laughed. “Don’t worry about me. You’re not exactly having much success in the dating department.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Roy asked a little defensively.

“I see how you look at Wally,” Conner teased. “He’s probably the friendliest guy in this office, and you don’t have the balls to say hello.”

“I have balls,” Roy protested.

“Dude, for the past three months that you’ve worked here the most you’ve been able to do is stare with your mouth hanging open.”

“I just…” Conner was smirking at him, and Roy knew he had him beat. “Now just isn’t the best time for me to be dating,” he explained, thinking of his daughter. After completing his treatment, Lian was returned to his custody, and the past year with her had been the most at peace he had been with himself in a very long time.

“You’ll never know what’ll happen unless you go for it. I also know that he’s single, and I’ll have Dick put in a good word for you.”

“What does Dick have to do with anything?”

Conner gawked. “Dude, Dick and Wally have been best friends forever. Trust me, once Dick sings your praises Wally will be dying to go out with you.”

“Conner!” Clark stood in the doorway to Conner’s office with a frown on his face. “What have I told you about keeping others from working?”

“Sorry, Dad,” Conner apologized without much sincerity. Clark emitted a grunt eerily similar to Bruce’s then left the two of them alone. “But seriously,” Conner said to Roy, “get a move on before he thinks you’re not into him. Oh, and thanks for nothing.” He raised the tablet up. “Shoddy workmanship.”

 

 

 

**III. The Phone**

“This isn’t a work phone, so I really shouldn’t be taking a look at it,” Roy told Dick, “but I guess I could make an exception for an old friend.”

“Uh huh.” Dick had one of his ‘up to something’ smirks on his face, and Roy didn’t like it. 

"Yeah. Gross Daryl asked for this same favor, and I had to turn him down."

“What do you want?”

Roy laughed nervously. “What?”

“You’ve always been a rule-breaker, but you tend to go soft on me whenever you need me to do you a favor, so spill, Harper.”

“Well,” Roy sighed, “you accidentally put your phone on do not disturb mode again, and that’s why your phone is silent whenever you get phone calls or notifications.” He handed the cell phone back to Dick who was looking a little embarrassed at making such a silly mistake. “Also, I may need you to put in a good word for me with Wally.”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “You mean talk you up so he’ll want to go out with you?” He wasn’t teasing; he actually sound a little confused…maybe worried.

“Yeah. Is that a problem?”

“Maybe.”

That was unexpected.

“Look, Roy. I love both of you. But are you ready, _really_ ready, to get back out there? You just got Lian back and this new job. You and Wally are in completely different places in your lives. Roy, he’s a good guy, and I don’t want him to get hurt. So unless you’re sure that this is something you can handle, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I want what’s best for both of you.”

Dick had brought up fears that Roy was too afraid to voice. He had considered that someone like him wouldn’t be good enough for someone like Wally. The jolly ginger that greeted everyone with a huge smile every day was obviously not exposed to the same tragedies that Roy experienced.

“Roy, have you even talked to him?”

“No,” he muttered.

“You might want to start with that before you consider asking him out,” Dick said a little more lightheartedly. “You won’t need my help. He’s a super approachable guy. And he might have mentioned to me that the new IT guy was kind of hot.”

Roy’s head shot up. “Are you shitting me?”

“Not shitting.” Dick grinned, looking more relaxed about the topic of conversation. “Talk to him,” Dick urged. “Also, he’s great with kids, so you should play the dad card.”

Roy could’ve just died.

 

 

 

 

**IV. The Printer**

“I’m sure this is an easily fixable problem, but I’m not very tech savvy,” Wally explained with that winning grin. “I must have tried to print this at least ten times, and I still can’t figure out what’s wrong. Well, duh, that’s why I had you sent up here. Because I’m useless.” He could talk your ear off, but Roy liked how his tone changed pitches whenever he got off topic.

After checking that all the printer settings were correctly adjusted, Roy instructed, “Try printing that memo one more time.”

Wally clicked the print button and let out a sigh of relief when the printer started making noise. “Phew! That could have been a disaster. I wonder how all those settings got messed up?”

“You let Carly play with the printer,” Kori answered tersely from her end of the desk. “Next time just promise her candy if she behaves.”

“I did,” Wally whined, “but she was just so damn cute that she talked me into letting her touch _everything_.”

Roy perked up. “You’re good with kids?”

“The best! Kids love me. What can I say? It’s the winning personality.”

 _That’s not all,_ was what Roy thought as he inspected the contrast of Wally’s strong jaw and kind green eyes. He wasn’t even trying to be charming—it came naturally. He saw Kori watching him stare at Wally, and he ducked his head in shame while Wally continued to babble.

“—and there’s this movie from the nineties when…Sorry, I tend to prattle on about nothing.”

Roy blushed. “No, it’s fine! Really, I was listening.”

Wally’s smile grew. “You don’t mind that I talk so much? I know Kori puts up with me, because we’re friends, but you don’t really know me.”

“It’s fine,” Roy assures him. “I have a daughter, so I’m used to mostly listening.” Roy flinched. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned that so soon. Wally may be good with kids, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be involved with someone who had their own.

Wally’s eyebrows rose. “Really?” Roy nodded. “She talks, and you listen. What about the wife? Is she a talker or a listener?” She was neither, because she was dead, but Roy didn’t feel the need to divulge that information. However, he didn’t miss the subtle way in which Wally tried to discover his relationship status.

Roy hummed as he pretended to re-check the printer settings. “No wife.” He snuck a quick glance at Wally to gage his reaction.

“Oh,” Wally said absentmindedly. He even opened a browser and pretended to search something of significance, but Roy watched him type ‘babies hugging puppies’ in the search engine. Not to mention he was blushing, and it was super cute.

“Roy, that was Bruce on line one,” Kori informed him with a knowing twinkle in her eye. “He needs you to take a look at his computer.”

He cleared his throat. “Right. Wally, it was nice…fixing your printer…”

“It was also nice finally getting to talk to you,” Wally added with his signature smile. “Hope to see you walking by again, preferably sometime soon.”

“Y—yeah…soon…”

“Roy,” Kori snapped playfully. _“Bruce.”_

“Sorry!” Roy took his hands off the desk and waved goodbye to Wally, practically skipping to Bruce’s office.

 

 

 

 **V.** **The Fake Problem**

“Somebody, help!” Wally called down the hallway. “The printer has fallen, and it can’t get up!”

Roy snorted. How could someone manage to be super lame but unfairly cute all at once? “Tell the printer to keep its pants on,” he said as he made his way into the lounge from Damian's office.

“I’m just kidding,” Wally said as Roy approached the desk. “It’s safe and sound on the desk, but it doesn’t seem to be printing again.” He popped a tic-tac in his mouth, and it was distracting Roy from the task at hand. He got a grip and turned the printer on.

“And you assumed I could fix it.” It was probably stupid of him to think that being able to fix printers was a way to show off to Wally, but it seemed to be working, because this was the fourth time this week Wally needed assistance from IT. And it was only Wednesday.

“Guess I’ve just gotten used to you coming to the rescue.” Roy swore his face didn’t turn red. “By the way, thanks for that flash-drive you gave me.”

“Not a problem,” he managed to smoothly reply.

“Next time save your work,” Kori said after hanging up her phone. “You’re lucky you work for Clark, because Bruce wouldn’t stand you.”

“Oh, hush,” Wally said. “Bruce has told me plenty of times that I’m the favorite secretary.”

“Mhm.”

“Do you know what’s wrong with it?” Wally asked Roy about the printer.

“Well,” Roy chuckled, “it looks like someone jammed it with a bunch of paper.” It was adorable, the lengths Wally would go to just so Roy could stop by his desk. “Do you happen to know anything about this?”

Wally laughed despite the blush that appeared on his face. “Kori!” His feigned shock drew out another chuckle from Roy. “Roy’s got stuff to do, and you’re jamming up our printer. That’s poor time management.”

“Up yours, West.”

“Next time you want to say hello, you could just make up a problem instead of jamming the printer,” Roy informed him.

“I’m being endearing.”

“Ah, so that's what it is.”

“Is it working?”

“You’ll never know.”

 

 

 

**VI. The Secretary’s Cell Phone**

“Hey.”

Roy looked up from his phone’s screen. Wally was in front of him, smiling like he always did, satchel slung over his shoulder, ready to call it a day. He looked just as relaxed outside the office as he was inside.

“Wally. What’s up?”

“I know you’re technically off the clock, but I’m having a problem with my phone. Do you mind taking a quick look?”

If it was anybody else, Roy would’ve punched them in the face for asking him to do work outside of the office, but he could make an exception for the cute secretary.

Roy accepted the phone. “Sure. What’s the problem?”

“Your number isn’t in my contacts.”

_Smooth._

“Really, now?” Roy hoped his smirk looked sexy. “Well, I’ll just have to fix that, seeing as it’s my job, and I must comply with your request.”

“Technically, you don’t have to. We’re standing in front of the office, not in it.” Wally looked hopeful, like maybe Roy wasn’t just playing along to entertain him and was actually interested in him.

“Maybe I want to give you my number.” Wally beamed as Roy entered his number into Roy’s contacts. “Problem solved.” He handed the phone back. “Unless there’s anything else I can do for you?”

“Yeah. Pick up the phone when I call.”


End file.
